The Star of Millenia
by Arcadia Silver
Summary: CHAPTER NINE IS HERE!! BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!! Eight Millenium items were made, seven were found. The last Item, the Millenium star seeks a master, and it finds it's way into the hands of Tea Gardner. Now, with a Yami of her own, can the gang handle her?
1. Default Chapter

Star of Millenia  
  
Premise: The Puzzle, the Ring, the Rod, the Tauk, the Ahnk, the Eye, the Scale and the Star. These are the sacred Millenium Items. All were recovered but for the Star of Millenia. The star has been lost to the sands of time and shrouded in fog and mystery. For so long it waited, waited for the other Items to find owners, so it could finally come forth and claim a master. Now that the Items are found, it's the Star's turn to shine. It slips through countries and places, searching for the perfect master, til it finds itself in the hands of Tea Gardner........  
  
  
  
  
"Hmmm.....no, not good enough. Maybe this?? Nah, not her." Yugi mused, riffling through the racks of the trendiest clothing store in Tokyo, The Wyld Eye vintage clothing store.   
  
"Hey Yug!! Check this!!" Joey came running over to him, carring something in his arms. "I found a birthday gift of Tea!!" he announced proudly. Yugi's eyes lit up in hope.   
  
"Let me see it Joey!!" he pleaded. Joey nodded and held up his prize. "Ta-Da!!" Yugi took one long, searching, glancing look at it, and promptly facevaulted.   
  
"What?!" Joey wailed. Yugi weaved to his feet and stared at the item in his hands.   
  
"Joey!! She wants to look nice, not look like a chess board!" he cried, yanking the offensive black-and-white checked dress from his hands and pushed it on the rack. Joey witled and sighed.   
  
"I dunno what then Yug, we've been to every place in Tokyo. Mai is so easy to buy for..."  
  
"Yeah," Yugi teased, "All you need is some dark quiet place and no police officers and your both set." he chided. Joey perked up and smiled a bit.   
  
"Okay, okay, so we do get a bit...loud at times. So what? She doesn't mind." he amitted. Yugi just sighed and walked out the store. Joey followed, hands in his pockets, seemingly unhassled by the fact Tea's birthday was two days away and they had yet to find a suitable gift, even Yami was sortta begining to worry. They walked the streets, just looking in windows for something, nothing really jumped out at any of them, til they passed an antique store. Suddenly, Yugi halted.   
  
"Whoa, hey Joey, look at that!!" He cried, pointing to the window. Joey stopeed and looked, then got the same look in his eyes as Yugi.   
  
"Thats perfect!" he cried. Inside, on display in a small gold box was a star-shaped pendant, made of crystal, with a gold plate in the center. The plate had no markings on it, but was just plain gold. It was perfect. Tea loved antiques.   
  
"Should we go get it?" Yugi asked.   
  
"It can't hurt to try." Joey replied. They walked around the corner to the door and walked inside.   
  
  
"Hello?" Joey called inside. The store was small and cluttered. Old nick-nacks shoved here and there, on shelves, covered in dust and ages of dirt. Boxes were piled here and there, half-open and some contents strewn out. Small and narrow paths wound around islands of nothing. Joey called again, and from the other side of the store, a female voice answered.   
  
"Hello? Who's there??" Joey shouldered through some more piles of boxes and to the counter where a tall, lean brunette stood. She smiled at Yugi when he crawled under a pile of various nick-nacks and came up to the counter.   
  
"Hello! welcome to Pharoah's Eye Antique Shoppe! What can I do for you?" she smiled. Yugi smiled back and pointed to the necklace in the window.   
  
"We want to know how much that necklace is please." he asked. The woman followed his pointing and saw the necklace.   
  
"Oh!! That old thing? You mean you actually WANT that thing?" she snorted. "I can't seem to give it away. I dunno why, it's pretty. But hey, if you want it, you can have it, free." she replied. Joey smiled and leaned over to hug her.   
  
"Oh man lady, you have no idea how happy that makes me!" He hugged her tight and let her go, and the girl blushed lightly. Yugi went to the window and lifted it off the display prop and closed it up. Both failing to notice the Puzzle begining to glow softly under Yugi's shirt.   
  
Yugi walked back to the counter, and bowed graciously to the woman. "Thank you miss, this means alot to us." he said. The girl just smiled, brushing it off as nothing, and wished them a good day before turning back to the back part of the store.   
  
They left the store, Yugi holding the box under his arm, none, not even Yami felt nor saw the Puzzle glowing faintly beneath his shirt.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh man!!" Tristan exclaimed as he held the box in his hands, examining the pendant. "Tea's gonna love it! where did you and Yugi find this?"   
  
"Ehh, nothing special, just a little shoppe on 14th and Sakura." he explained. Tristan looked up at him.   
  
"Sakura and 14th?? That's impossible." he said.   
  
"No, Sakura and 14th.." Joey insisted.   
  
"No way.." Tristan shook his head. "Remember that's where that old building that almost fell three years ago during that earthquake? It was never torn down and never used for anything else." Joey looked up at him, looking odd.   
  
"Ehh, maybe I just remebered it wrong." he shrugged. At that moment, Bakura came rushing in.   
  
"Guys, Yugi and Tea are coming!!" he cried. Everyone in the room. (everyone being Joey, Tristan, Bakura, and Mia) ran and hid under various items of furniture, and flipped off the light.  
  
  
"C'mon Tea!! We're almost home, then you can sit down!" Yugi called, running ahead of her.   
  
Tea stopped and was tempted to just keel over. Her feet hurt painfully, and they throbbed in her flats. Yugi said he wanted to go out to town today, she never guessed he wanted to run laps around the school's track!! Three miles around a quater mile track. Oww..  
  
"Alright, alright I'm coming! You didn't have to run around the track in these things!" she cried. Yugi just smiled and urged her on the last few feet to her door. Inside the Soul Room, Yami supressed a chuckled at the expression on her face as she painfully removed her shoes at the door. Taking some time to rub her red feet, she followed him into her living room, grateful for the cool stone foyer on her tired soles. Yugi bounced ahead into the dark room, making sure everything was ready.   
  
"Yugi, why didn't you turn the lights on??" she asked, clamouring blindly into the dark room. Suddenly the lights snapped on, forcing her eyes to dialate suddenly. She reeled back, sheilding her eyes. Everyone leaped from their hiding places and screamed.   
  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEA!!!!!!"  
  
"Eep!!" she cried, and leaped back. She blinked, once twice, and yet her jaw drop in surprize.   
  
"You...you guys.." she started. "This is so nice, you shouldn't have..." Joey came forward, hugging her and smiling.   
  
"Hey, think nothing of it. Your our friend, right?" he said. Everyone around the room nodded. Tea melted and hugged Joey back.   
  
"Thanks guys...I thought you had all forgot.." she smiled.   
  
"Hey..sorry to interupt this love fest, but lets open these gifts and eat, I've been on a diet for three weeks and I'm looking to break it!" Mai cried.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, Bakura!! This is incredable, thanks!" Tea cried, pulling the blue sweater to her chest, comparing it to her body. It was a perfect match for her eyes. Bakura just shrugged.   
  
"I saw it and thought of you.." was all he said. She reached over and hugged him breifly before folding it carefully and reaching for Mai's gift. Gently tearing open the package, she reached inside and pulled out a small white box, and opened it. Tea's eyes went wide and she put it out to let the others see it.   
  
Inside were three, chibi crystal angels. One held a candle, one a song book, the last had it's hands clasped in prayer. In the top of the box was a poem.   
  
  
Your Worry Box  
  
This Box is for your worries,   
The aches within your heart.   
A place to tuck away your fears,  
Where love and hope can start.  
So keep this box near you,  
And know how much they care.  
For when you need peace and joy,  
An angel will be there.  
  
"Oh Mai..this is beautiful..." she whispered. The vulupous blonde just shrugged.   
  
"I figured you needed it, your the biggest worry-wort I know." Tea just let the comment pass, and placed it down by her feet.   
  
"Thanks, I'll put this beside my bed." she promised. She looked around, one last gift. Joey picked it up and put it in her hands.  
  
"Tea, this is from all of us. Joey, Yugi, Yami, and me. Happy birthday." he backed away, crossing fingers hoping she'd like it. She opened up the box, and lifted it out of the packaging. Speechless, she undid the hook and brought her hands behind her neck to fasten it.   
  
In his Soul Room, Yami watched the scene unfold. Using Yugi's eyes, he caught something reflecting off a mirror on the other side of the room. Yugi, aware of Yami looking at something, turned to face the mirror full-front. On his chest, something was glimmering. Yugi reached into his shirt and pulled out the vibrating Puzzle.   
  
{What the??} Yami asked softly in the Soul Room. He looked down at the Puzzle through Yugi's eyes. The Puzzle had only reacted like this in the precense of other Millenium Items. He looked down at it, thinking, then, he turned to look at Tea, reaching up to fasten the necklace.   
  
{No........}   
  
the next few seconds were chaos. Yami instantly switched with Yugi and bolted up to knock the neclace from her neck. But it was too little, too late. The second he stood, Tea had locked the snap into place. There was a second of painful silence before eveything erupted into light.   
  
A sudden rush of wind knocked everyone back, they were pushed back to the far wall. Yami, using the Puzzle's magic, shielded himself and stood to walk back to Tea. He was walking against hurricane winds, as the windows cracked, then blasted into shards. After the wind, came thunder, loud, peaircing thunder and lightining. Insane lights danced about the room, things and items not bolted down that had been tossed by the wind now were catching fire. And, just to add irony, the room turned instantly hot as waves of fire blasted above their heads. The house began to rock as the earth beneath began to twist and pitch. One last second of chaos before the last assult came. Water, and amssive wave of water flooded into the room, the pressure sucking them under like a riptide.   
  
Then, as soon as it started, it stopped. The water, and light, and thunder dissappeared, and all was still. Yami stood up, and looked across the room at Tea.   
  
Tea levitated above the soaking floor, suspended in mid-air by the aura that teemed about her form. The pendant around her neck was the source of the energy. The gold plate in the middle of it now bore the Eye of Horus, like all the Millenium Items did. And, as with Yugi and Yami, the Eye now burned itself into Tea's forehead.  
  
{Y-Y-Yami?? What's happened to her?} Yugi stammered in the Puzzle. Yami just looked up at Tea, awe and some sense of danger combining in his mind.   
  
{I ..........don't know. I think that necklace is a ..Millenium Item.} he said back. Ygui sent a wave of shock thorugh Yami's mind.   
  
{No way!! We found all seven of them!}  
  
"Thats what I thought too.." he breathed. From behind, he felt Yami Bakura rise up, taking control over his partner's body. He stalked up behind Yami and snarled.  
  
"What in the hell happened?" he groused. He looked Tea up and down, up and down, before his eyes came to rest on the necklace and the Eye on Tea's forhead at the same time. "No...way." He breathed. "Another Item?"   
  
Slowly, the others rose, and looked at Tea. They basically all had reached the same conclusion as Yami Bakura and Yami had.   
  
There were EIGHT Millenium Items.   
  
"What are we gonna do?" asked Tristan. "She doesn't seem to be coming down anytime soon." Yami hadn't moved since he had laid eyes upon her. He just gazed hard at her, waiting for something to happen.   
  
Something did happen, her aura died, the eye faded, and Tea collapsed out of the air. She fell to the floor and crumbled. Everyone crowded her in an instant, helping her up to the couch. When she was liad down, they looked over each others shoulders expectantly. Tea then opened her eyes.   
  
"Get off me!!" she shouted. Everyone jumped, except Yami, he just looked down at her, a harsh look on his face. Tea shifted her much narrower eyes at everyone. The normally blue eyes were pale grey, and her face was sharper and sterner. She stood up from the couch, and screamed.  
  
"WHY ARE YOU STARING AT ME?!?!"   
  
"Hey!! Calm down Tea! No need to get upset..." Joey pleaded. Whatever had just happnened, it had put Tea on PMS-Overdrive. Tea smirked, a smirk not unlike Yami's.   
  
"Tea, huh? So that's this girls name....Tea. Hmph, sounds like a whimp to me." she snarled. Yami stepped forward at that moment.   
  
"Listen, who are you? Where is Tea?" he asked in that calm "answer-me-or-else" voice.   
  
"I think of all people you should know who I am. I'm this girl's new Yami, her new dark-side. As for her, she's in her Soul Room screaming at the top of her lungs at me. Loud too.." she shook her head a bit. Yami scowled.   
  
"LEt her go, leave her now." he commanded. Yami-Tea shook her head.  
  
"Sorry, no can do. I like this body and I'm not leaving."   
  
"I said.." Yami got cut off suddenly by a fireball being held close to his face.   
  
"The power of the Millenium Star.." Yami-Tea cooed, "Is total control over the elements, so unless you want a flash flood all over this city, you'd better shut up." Yami sortta...growled, and backed away.   
  
"Well boys and girls" she cried. "Looks like I'm stuck here for a while. My name is Kurnia...and I'm here to stay..." 


	2. Yami Tea Makes Waves

Star of Millenia  
  
Chapter Two: Divided Star   
  
  
"Kurnia??" Joey piped. "Whoa, wierd name babe." Kurnia, or Yami Tea, either you wish, just flipped him off, and slunk over to Yami, glaring down at him from Tea's superior height.   
  
"So, two of the other Millenium Items here as well? My, my, how conveinent for some lunatic to come and snatch them.up." she sneered. She slowly fingered the Eye of Horus on the Puzzle slowly. "But I'm sure someone has tried it before, ne?"   
  
Yami looked up at her with a sudden hate and contempt in his glare. Kurnia looked back, hands on her hips, head and shoulders cocked different angles, and a flirtatious, if not alluring smirk on her face. It was a game of sorts, could Yami's cold eyes beat out the sly sweetness of Kurnia's? The two Item bearers looked on from within their Soul Rooms, wondering just what their yami's were planning to do. At that time, Yami Bakura stepped up.   
  
"Okay wench, just what's going on? How are there eight Items?? Where did you come from and-?!" Yami Bakura was silenced suddenly as Yami Tea yanked him up by the collar of his sweater, and held him face to her face. She locked gray eyes to his red eyes, she snarled.   
  
"Don't you........DARE call me wench!! You hear that bitch??" she snapped. Yami Bakura wriggled in her grasp, crying in frustration.  
  
"Yell me down this instant! I'll call you whatever I want!" he reached for the Ring inside his jacket, until Yami Tae reached inside and grabbed his hand. She gave it a sudden twist, and twisted up the collar of the shirt, making it tight around his neck. She leered even colder at him and didn't scream his time, but kept her voice low and vibrating hate.   
  
"I said don't ever call me that again, you flithy grave-robber." with that there was a loud **SMACK** and she dropped him on the floor. Yami Bakura rolled on his back, holding his red cheek, on which the red part was in the shape of Yami-Tea's hand.   
  
Smiling to herself, she dusted herself off and slowly sashayed out the room, and up the stiars to Tea's room.   
  
  
  
  
"What just happened?" Tristan asked.   
  
"Looks like Tea's Yami put Bakura's Yami in his place." Joey supplied. Yami looked up the stairs at Kurnia's retreating form.   
  
"I guess this means that things are really going to be difficult." Yami said to himself. Kurnia had already displayed a great deal of agression towards anything that made her slightly mad. She also displayed her ability to control the elements at anytime. She was openly agressive, powerful, volitale, and in Tea's body. This wasn't good.   
  
Mai watched Tea go up the stiars before she tilted her head to the side and sighed. "Well, she's....she's different." She walked past Joey and Trist and and straight to Yami.   
  
"So Pharoah, what are we gonna do? Do we get that thing away from Tea or do we live with this new bad-girl-split-personality thing?" Yami shrugged his shoulders, a rare thing for him to do.   
  
"I....I don't really know" Yami Bakura had eventually got over his shock and stood up again.   
  
"I say when she's not looking, knock her out, and destroy that thing. Last thing we need is a pyscho running around like that."  
Joey blinked.  
  
"What's that expression?? The...pot calling the kettle black? Something like that." he asked. Yugi switched with Yami and sat down.   
  
"Whats that supposed to mean??" Yami Bakura asked, eager madness edging his voice.   
  
"You!! Basically it means that you don't have much room to call ANYONE pyscho! This coming from a guy who licked blood of the Millenium Eye!!" Joey shuddered violently and walked away.   
  
THUMP THUMP THUMP!!!  
  
"Crap!! This is all totally crap!!" a voice screamed from above.   
  
"Huh??" Tristan asked, looking up. "That sounded like Tea....but not."  
  
"Yeah.." Yugi sighed. "Looks like Yami Tea is mad at something. We best go see whats wrong with her. Keep her calm." He stood up again and treked up the stairs. Tristan and Joey following with great reluctance, Mai with curiousity, and Yami Bakura just shoved his hands in his pockets and followed.   
  
In the hallway, Tea's clothes were slung everywhere, and more items were flying from the doorway. Stepping carefully over the skirts and tops, they peeked inside Tea's room.   
  
Everything was tossed everywhere, picture frames scattered and bedsheets ripped and torn, drawers were pulled out and emptied uncerimoniously on the hardwood floor. In the midst of the chaos, Yami Tea stood at the closet, flinging out anything she laid her hands on.   
  
"Pink! Orange! Baby blue! No black, or red, or purple..whats with this girl?" she raged. Soon the closet was empty and she sung around. Sighting Yugi she picked up a top and stalked over, and pushed the top in his face.   
  
"Look at this...LOOK AT THIS!!!"   
  
"Uh...nice top??" Yugi squeaked. Yami Tea seethed and tossed the top into the pile growing in the hallway.   
  
"Nice?? It's A GIRL'S TOP!!"   
  
"Well, you are a girl..." Joey pipped.   
  
"Not 'girl' clothes!!.......GIRLIE clothes!! Things sweet little virgin cheerleaders wear!!!" she cried.   
  
"Uh.........." Yugi stammered. Yami Tea stomped past him, into the halls, treading all over Tea's clothes, and into the living room. She grabbed the keys from the table and yelled up.   
  
"I'm going to get some regular clothes!!" she cried, daring anyone to stop her. No-one protested as she bolted out the door.  
  
"Wait you guys..." Tristan called.   
  
"What??" Joey asked, releived as the sound of the car leaving the driveway was heard.  
  
"Can Tea drive?? Better yet, can Yami Tea??"  
  
"........"  
  
"........."  
  
"......."  
  
"TEA!!!!!!!!!!" 


	3. New Clothes, New Room, New Atittude, and...

Star of Millenia  
  
Chapter Three:   
  
  
Needless to say, the next few hours were stressful. They had no ways of knowing where Yami Tea had gone in the car, and searching for her was useless. The best option? Wait and pray no-one crosses her path or provokes her into blowing up any buildings.   
  
  
  
  
They had turned on the TV and watched the news, hoping she wouldn't show up anywhere. Otherwise, they just sat around. Joey and Tristan were on the floor playing DM (surprize, surprize folks) and Joey was winning.   
  
"Aww man!! Not again!" Tristan cried as Joey's Red-Eyes Black Dragon blew his Cyber Commander to the graveyard. Joey smiled a bit and collected his cards from the board.   
  
"Lost again, eh bro?" he smiled. Tristan just collected his cards and shuffled them up.   
  
"Whatever Joey..can we play something else?" he asked. Joey shruggled and pulled out regular card deck and they played Gin.   
  
On the couch, YamiBakura had retreated back into the Ring, and Bakura was in charge of his body now. He sat beside Yugi, and the two mused over the recent events.   
  
"Yugi, what are we going to do? According to my Yami, the Star was never created. If so, where did it come from?" Bakura asked. Yugi went blank, he was talking to Yami.  
  
"Well, me and Yami both think that the Star was created AFTER all of us passed away in Egypt. If so, there must have been a reason. I wonder why?"   
  
"Maybe someone re-opened the Shadow Games??" Bakura asked.   
  
"Could be, but, wouldn't have the Items been awoken if that was true?"   
  
"I guess...maybe we can ask Yami Tea when or if she ever gets back." Yugi looked up at the sky, sighing slowly.  
  
"Whats wrong?" Bakura pried. Yugi looked back at him and explained.   
  
"Don't you remember? All the carriers of a Millenium Items were once people back in ancient Egypt. I was a Pharoah, Seto was one of my preists, you were a...a..."  
  
"Grave robber? I don't mind it Yugi, I know it wasn't me. Go on" he urged.   
  
"Joey and Tristan were two of my closest friends. ......So was Tea." Bakura's eyes lit up.   
  
"Do you mean...that...maybe..." he stammered.   
  
"Yeah, I think Yami Tea may be Tea's reincarnate from Anceint Egypt." he finished.   
  
"Wow, thats weird." Bakura whispered as he reclined on the couch. "but Yugi, didn't Yami say once that Tea was a kind person back in Egypt?"   
  
"Yeah, but you see, Yami died before she did. She could have lived for several more years after that. Maybe something changed her in that time. It's possible that she may have become like she is now, a real...female dog." he finished.   
  
"Heh," Bakura chuckled, "that's what YamiBakura called her too, along with a few other things." Yugi sortta smiled.  
  
"Yami didn't call her anything. Yami doesn't go so low as to insult someone, but he's...wary of her. She DOES have an Item, that much is certain, and her powers are more openly agressive. More of a fighter's type magic."   
  
"What do you mean "Fighter's type magic'"? he asked.   
  
"Well, it's like something you'd use in a real fight. Most of the Item's powers are strategic. The Ring seeks out the other Items, the Rod controls minds, the Tauk sees the future, the Eye allows you to read people's minds, the Scale points out truth from lies, the Ahnk sees people's true personalities, and the Puzzle protects from dark magic." Yugi explained. "The Star seems to grant the wearer powerful magic. Magic that's openly and imediately assesable. Unlike the other Items"  
  
"But, the Puzzle and the Rod, they allow you to use them almost any time you wish." Bakura rationalized.   
  
"No, the transformation between me and Yami takes time. The Rod also has a few seconds delay before it begins to work. You saw her, it took her notime to summon that fireball earlier. Immagine, even with all the Items against her, she only needs to shoot some fire and thats it, no competition. But we do have an advantage..."   
  
Bakura blinked. "We can run faster than she can?"   
  
"No!! Her power, it seems to be unstable, it's fast, powerful, and can be used in an instant, but it can't last long."  
  
"How'd you figure that?"   
  
"It's a secret." Yugi teased.   
  
Bakura went to say something else, but was interupted by a sound, the sound of tires screeching in the driveway. Everyone looked up as lights passed along the walls through the blinds and dissapeared.   
  
"She's baaaaaaaaaccccccck!!" chimed Joey.   
  
The engine stopped and the sound of a door slamming echoed through the street. Silence followed and the door blew open suddenly and Yami Tea stepped in.   
  
"What the........?" Tristan wavered. Yami Tea plunked down several bags of clothing on the floor, pulled off her sunglasses, and tossed them on the table.   
  
"It's 8:00 at night, she wore those things while drving?" Mai asked. No-one answered her, most were looking at Yami Tea to be sure they were ready to run.   
  
"So," Yami Tea plopped on the nearest seat and crossed her legs. "Were you guys good little boys and girls while I was gone?"   
  
"You see the house standing, don't ya?" Tristan muttered under his breath.   
  
Yami Tea ignored that and smiled. "I take that as a yes..." she smiled. She gave a toss to her brown and blonde hair. Yes, blonde. Her hair was streaked heavily with blonde stands, and it was more messy than Tea's. She had changed outfits while she was gone. Tea's old clothes, (a pair of white cargo pants and a blue top), were now a black, glittery tube top covered by a snake skin-esque jacket. Her legs were encased in leatherette pants that hid the tops of her Stiletto (sp?) heeled boots. In other words, she was prime material for a Matrix sequel, the clothes were that tight.   
  
"Nice clothes, uh, Yami Tea." Bakura praised her. Maybe is she was happy, she wouldn't fry them, at least that was his hope. Yami Tea snorted.   
  
"This? Just a small ensamble, nothing much. At least it's an improvement over that prissy-girl stuff up there..." She pointed up, indicating Tea's room. Everyone just kept silent and did nothing. Yami Tea, sensing they were somewhat tense, stood up and picked up her bags. "I'm going to correct that massive mistake that is my new room." she announced. Her body disappeared up the steps before everyone sighed in releif.   
  
"At least she didn't flip out.." Trsitan pointed out. The other residents of the Mazaki household just thanked whatever lucky star they possesed and hoped that that luck stayed.   
  
Upstairs, sounds of thumping, things being dragged, rearranged, and being thrown into general disorder eminated. One preticular sound of something shattering drew much attention to above.  
  
"What was that?" Bakura asked.   
  
"I think it was something breaking...sounded like glass, or porcelin." Mai offered.   
  
"How do you know what shattering porcelin sounds like?" Joey asked.   
  
"Just stuff it Joey." she snapped. He cringed and was silent.   
  
"Yes ma'am..." he whimpered.   
  
"Ohh!! He's being scolded..." Tristan mocked. Mai turned her violet gaze on him   
  
" Same goes for you too!" she hollered. Tristan took up the same submissive position, facing away from Mai as Joey did.   
  
"So who's being scolded now?" Joey asked.   
  
"Just shut up!"   
  
  
The sounds and strange noises continued for about an hour after that til finally everything went silent.   
  
"Ya think she's done??" Yugi asked.   
  
"Hope so Yug, I'm getting tired of this." Tristan complained.   
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!"   
  
"That was Tea!!" Yugi cried.   
  
"No joke man!!" Joey fired back, jumping up. Everyone leaped up and ran upstairs. Yugi was first to turn the corner and see inside.   
  
"What.....the....??" he stammered. Joey skidded to a stop behind him and looked inside.   
  
"Holy...." Everyone peeked in and gave their variating veiws on the incredable transformation of the small room in a matter of an hour.   
  
"Is this Trading Spaces (1) or something?" Mai asked.   
  
"Tea?" Yugi asked, going into the midle of the room, where and figure in black stood stock still on the middle of the black and purple woven rug. Yugi came around to her and looked at her. Her eyes were back to blue, which meant this was really Tea now. Gulping down to ignore the clothes, or lack thereof, on her, he shook her shoulder gently. Exciting no response, he shook harder.   
  
"Tea?? Whats wrong?" he asked.   
  
"M-M-My...room. What did she do??" she whispered. She held up her hands and looked at the shards of broken porcelin in her hand. "This was a vase...all the way from Milan, Italy." she whispered again. "My grandmother gave it to me as a 10th birthday present, she's dead." She lowered her hands and let the peices drop on the floor.   
  
"Uhh....sorry?" Yugi squeaked. The others had wandered in, looking around at the ravaged room. The walls were now covered in dark red material, making everything dark and gothic. The windows were trimmed in a shimmering purple, boardering on plum. The hardwood floor was covered with scattered rugs, mostly black. The sliding doors that kept Tea's closet closed were replaced by a heavy layer of bead curtains, altering red and purple. Her white covers were now black too, and done all in satin. Furniture was rearranged, leaving a large space in the middle of the room, where the largest of the rugs were. In the corner of the room, partially hidden, was a trash bag of clothing, Tea's old things.   
  
"Nice...change." someone spoke. up Tea suddenly broke.   
  
"DAMN THIS!! DAMN THIS WHOLE THING! SHE HAS NO RIGHT COMING IN HERE AND CHANGING EVERYTHING!! AND I'M NOT A PRISSY VIRGIN CHEERLEADER!!"  
  
...............  
...............  
...........  
  
"I MEAN I'M NOT A PRISSY CHEERLEADER!" 


	4. Scheming of a Yami

Star of Millenia  
  
Chapter Four  
  
  
The gang left the within the hour, thinking it best to leave Tea alone to calm down and adjust to her new situation. Everyone left, except Yugi that is. He knew full well what Tea was going through, and yet, he did not. He knew what it was like to suddenly have to share a body with some stranger. Not that Yami was a stranger anymore, but that was beside the point. But in some way, he had no clue what she was enduring. Yami had never been forceful or pushy, in fact he had hid inside the puzzle for a long time, never revealing himself until much later. Yami Tea had just popped up in an instant, robbing Tea of her body and will within seconds. But what can they do? The Millenium Star belonged with Tea now, there was no escaping that. But Yami Tea had to be taugh she couldn't step in and just flip everything around to suit her, this was Tea's life more than hers.   
  
At the moment Yugi was sitting on the end of Tea's bed while she sat at the head, and just looked out her bay-windows blankly. She was still in Yami Tea's outfit, she didn't bother changing. She just held the shard of the vase in her hands and did nothing.   
  
"Uh, Tea?" he asked. She just looked over at him slowly, her eyes half-lidded. He instantly left a tang of guilt. "Is there anything I can do??" he asked. She shook her head.  
  
"No...nothing. This is my problem." she sighed.   
  
{Yugi, let me talk to her..} Yami asked inside the puzzle. Yugi just nodded and told Tea that "He was coming out.." and they changed. Tea sat still on the bed and looked down on her hands.   
  
"Tea?" he asked. He crawled over the black satin sheets closer to her, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Listen, it's not that bad Tea. She's just abit disoriented righ now, and she's adjusting to this, like you are."   
  
"She seems to have a much better time adapting than I am." she retorted.   
  
"Your just taking your time." he said.   
  
"Yeah right. What am I gonna do? She's not going to be agreeable, and what happens when we go to school? What's to say she won't take over suddenly and just blow the place up?" she questioned.   
  
"We just hope that never happens. Can't you stop her from doing that?"  
  
"Did it look like I could stop her this afternoon?" she snipped back. Yami sighed and sat down Indian style.   
  
"Maybe she just might behave herself." he hoped. Tea snorted in a "yeah right" way, and he just sighed. He reached over and placed a hand on hers, covering the shards from her eyes. He took them from her and put them on the nightstand. He slowly clasped one of his hands around both of hers, and did his best to comfort her in actions, since his words did little to help. Tea turned her head a bit, and muttered something to herself.   
  
  
{H-H-He's holding my hand!! Gods, he's holding my hand! Am I blushing?? Oh I hope he can't see me!} she rattled in her head.   
  
Yami Tea peeked her head outside her Soul Room and took in the sight of Tea inside her Soul Room, trembling and blushing.   
  
"What's got ya so riled up?" she asked. Tea just shook her head and kept thinking to herself.   
  
Now here's where one of the wonders of the human nature occur. Yami Tea had no hate for her abiou, she just didn't like her. To further acess the relationship, Yami Tea has already adopted a new nick-name for her, Brat. Of course Tea had adopted a wide assortment of euphanisms for her new partner, few very nice. But this is getting of the course of my point. The point is, both of the females, althought sharing a body, only seemed to endure each other's presence. When Yami Tea poked her head out and say what Yami and Tea were doing, better yet, Tea's reaction to what Yami was doing, one idea popped into her head.   
  
Play matchmaker.   
  
Of course, Yami Tea is far from the normal female, she has the added virtue of having no sense of personal boundries and privacy, a quality she has shown several times already. It took only seconds for the perfect scheme to pop into her head. Smiling, she poked her head back into her Soul Room, and kept the door open to listen and watch, a plan like this could not be executed with the prefection that she demanded of herself without gathering some needed intelligence. She sat down by her door and listened carefully.   
  
Call it one girl looking out for another, maybe it was a way of making Tea's life more miserable, or just Yami Tea's way of getting kicks. Either way, some grand, divine emotion moved Yami Tea to come to her abiou's aid in her time of emotional distress. Most seem to support the later of the possibilites.   
  
Of course the author would be pleased to note that this is mostly an exclusively female tendency, if not so, the human race would probably cease to exsist.   
  
  
Yami looked at Tea as she looked at her wall on the other side of the room. He could have sworn that she was avoiding looking at him. He gave her hand a small squeeze to get her attention.   
  
Tea gulped down a lump in her throat and felt her cheeks glow redder at the simple action. She took a deep calming breath, and turned to face him.   
  
"What is it Yami?" she asked, voice trebling.   
  
"Hey, are you going to be okay? Do you want us to spend the night?" he asked. "I think your Mom will let me sleep on the couch."   
  
"Stay over night??" Tea qipped from her Soul Room. "YES!!...uh..I mean...NO!! Bad idea!! That's just too strange, but it sounds fun..." she argued.   
  
"I guess it's alright." her actual voice replied. Yami Tea smirked from her Room. Perfect.   
  
Yami nodded. "I guess I should let Yugi call him grandfather." he replied. Tea nodded and he slipped his hand from hers and went down stairs. He closed the door behind him. When a soft click told her the door was closed, she fell off the couch.   
  
"He's staying the night..." she whispered. "WHOO-HOO!!" she punched her fist into the air.   
  
  
Yami Tea closed the door behind her, she had seen enough. She kept her spot on the floor and put her head on her hands and thought.   
  
"Well, it's obvious that Brat likes Pharoah-Boy. The only thing is, Pharoah-Boy is as dense as a limestone quarry about it. Well, no-one can have everything, some have brains and no sense, or lots of sense but no brains. I've known a few who had neither." she mused. She stood up and slowly walked over to her bed. She reclined back on the deep red silk comforter and looked up at the battered gold ceiling, illuminated by hanging torches. Unlike Yami and Yugi's Soul Rooms, as well as Tea's, Yami Tea's Soul Room was richly decorated with a large bed, heavy rugs piled everywhere, and walls done much like the tombs of Egypt. Around her were the treasures in her possesion. Mostly weapons and magic runes or artifacts. She rolled on her stomach and pondered more.   
  
"Well, I guess he needs a wake-up call. So I guess you can just call me Yami's New Alarm Clock..." she grinned. She worked out the details of her plan, laughing to herself silently. Oh the look on Yami's face when she sprung this surprize! That alone was more than worth this! Perhapse she could drop hints to the others? Having it on this...ca-mer-ra...thingie would be a delightful bonus and an excellent blackmail tool for future references.   
  
As afore said, most of us think she was doing this for nothing but to have something to occupy her mind.   
  
  
  
  
Yugi's grandfather approved of letting him stay over that night. Tea's family wasn't there so she had nothing to worry about. Tea rumaged her parent's video cabinet for a good movie. Everything was either a documentary or a baseball game. (Tea's father was a sports nut, and her mother seemingly an advocate of National Geographic Explorer) She gave up, until she came across a dubbed English movie. She picked it up and looked over the title.  
  
"Le...La...Liz....Leb....Les! Les..Mizier...Mize...Micky...Mei...Mizerhab...Oh forget it! It's subtitled, so I don't care!" She put it under her arm and came down stairs.   
  
Little did Tea know, the movie was actaully Les Miserables. Anyone who has seen the play, read the book, or watched the movie, knows that not only is it very lenghty, and has the tendency to reduce grown men to tears.   
  
Three/Four hours later......  
  
**sniff sniff**  
  
**sniffle sniffle....**  
  
**sniffle sniffle..hiccup**  
  
"For heaven's sake Yugi!! Here!!" Tea thrust the kleenex box into Yugi's hands as she wiped the tears off her own cheeks. Yugi took a handful of them, and used two to blow his nose. Two more went to the effort to catch the tears falling from behind his lashes.   
  
"Poor Javert...WHY DID HE JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE?!?!!?" he hollered. Tea nodded and wiped her excess tears.   
  
"Poor Marius!! Jean goes and saves him for Cosette, how sweet!!" she choked. Inside the Puzzle, Yami watched the movie with Yugi's eyes, and he too, much to the bruising of his ego, had secretly let loose a few sniffles here and there as well.   
  
{Thank the Gods that Yugi's too occupied with the movie, he'd never let me wear this down}   
  
Within the Star, Yami Tea was not watching the movie, but instead schemeing. Her plans were laid, the traps set, and the only thing for her to do was to wait for another day...... 


	5. Sweet Memoria

Star of Millenia  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Night passed relatively well, Yami Tea made no apperances and all was quite. The night was Friday, so the day was Saturday. All members of the house indulged in sleeping late. Yugi had no trouble sleeping on Tea's couch, let's face it, it was more than big enough. It wasn't til Yami woke up within the puzzle and took over did anyone stir.   
  
He washed and redressed quickly, and went to check on Tea. Her door was closed tight and he heard nothing from inside. Yami though a second and decided a small peek inside wouldn't kill anyone. He placed his hand on the doorknob and opened it.   
  
The next second he was cowering and covering his ears in shock. It seems that Yami Tea had woken up long ago, changed, and then had ventured to sample some of Tea's music collection. Since Tea had the ambition to become a Broadway dancer, a good fraction of her CD's were Braodway music. Most had been the usual. Cats, Contact, West Side Story, Footloose, and some mixed tracks. Most had bored her to tears...til she found Tea's favorite. Rent.   
  
  
(AN: WARNING!! Any of you have something against Lesbians, AIDS, Transvestites, Transexuals, or any other facets of the bohemian lifestyle, or are sensitive to subjects like sex or cursing, DON'T WATCH RENT!!!)  
  
~*~*~ ~*~*~*  
  
Yami stood in the hallway blinking, like most people, most of the lyrics were disturbing to his pysche. Up til now, he had just hear bits of thoses things, but that was more than he wanted. More so disturbing was the site of Yami Tea in the middle of the room singing aloud to the song. She was in a diffrent clothing now, a black top with black netting coming from the arms to cover the lower half. Her pants were loose and baggy, with multiple pockets all around. Her shirt read: "I used to be schizophrenic, but we're okay now..."  
  
Yami looked on in wonder as Yami Tea pranced around the room, The top was large and hung over her shoulder. She bendt over and pranced around, making Yami painfully aware of the curves possed by the body that Yami Tea now controlled. He gazed on as the song ran it's course, and came to an end. Yami Tea paused to catch her breath, when she turned and saw Yami.   
  
"Oh, hey Pharoah-boy." she greeted in her rougher, more senusal voice. "I though I put a silence barrier on the door, sorry if I woke ya." with that, she pranced out the door, humming the melody of the song as she went. Yami watched her go downstairs before he closed the door and walked out.   
  
{Heh, well, first part done. Just a little more flirting here and there...and then I spring the big one!} Yami Tea thought jovially to herself.   
  
  
  
  
  
They ate breakfast quickly before they both decided to walk outside and take in some fresh air. The nearest park was just a few blocks off, so they headed there. The streets were crowded with the usual Saturday traffic, so the going was a bit slow. Yami Tea walked behind Yami slowly. She inspected Yami's body up and down, slowly, appraising every part of him, much like a man looking to perchase a horse, every part came under intense scrutiny. Inside the Soul Room, Tea was fully awake, and wanting control of her body back.   
  
{Why won't you let me out??} she cried. {I demand to use my own body! Now get back in here!} Yami Tea just bolted her door shut, and shook her head.   
  
{Not today abiou..} she taunted. {I got some things I need to take care of. Trust me, in the end, you will thank me...} she assured her. Tea just crossed her arms and glared, an action in which Yami Tea returned with equal and perfect intensity.   
  
Yami was well aware of Yami Tea's eyes roaming his body, and it irked him to no end. But he wasn't willing to push Yami Tea's buttons right at that moment, so he just did his best to ignore it. Walking on, he sensed Yugi awaken in the Puzzle.   
  
{About time Abiou...}  
  
{Sorry!} Yugi apologized. {That movie kept me up late, so I slept in. Nothing's happened so far, has it?}   
  
{Nothing, just Yami Tea singing.} He chose to let out the part where he couldn't stop watching her dance in her room.  
  
{Say what?} Yugi cried.  
  
{Forget it..} Yugi decided to let it drop, it wasn't important. They kept walking along, Yugi too felt the peircing, yet seemingly approving stare of Yami Tea.   
  
{Is she watching us??} Yugi asked.   
  
{I think so, moreso than usual.}  
  
{Why?}  
  
{I have no idea}   
  
Inside Yami Tea's Soul Room, the posessing spirit in question decided to spark some conversation with her abiou.   
  
"Hey Abiou, did you ever notice that Yami has the hottest ass I've ever seen??" she chirped. Tea opened her door and sighed.  
  
"I know...really something huh??" Yami Tea blinked a bit, she expected her to scream and demand she stop staring at him. She decided to test this further.   
  
"What about his voice??"  
  
"Makes your toes curl in your shoes, huh?" Yami Tea nodded.   
  
"Yeah, his voice is very sexy." Tea smiled and went on.   
  
"What about that grin he has? It's confident, but not cocky either. I nearly melt when he looks at me and does that." she gave a dreamy, lust-filled sigh. She stood in the doorframe of her Soul Room, leaning against the frame. Her arms were wrapped about her waist, and her eyes were glassy and off in space. Yami Tea shook her head as her abiou went into DreamLand.   
  
{Ra, I've never seen anyone so head-over-heels for one person. At least she doesn't squeal when he talks.}  
  
  
The park entrance loomed ahead. They turned off the concrete path and stepped on the grass. Yami Tea looked around, and spotted an area that would aid her in her next step. She streched, feigning fatigue.   
  
"Yami, I'm tired, why don't we sit on that bench over there?" she pointed over to a bench not far off, shaded by trees, and partially hidden by bushes and a wall. Yami just shrugged and followed her to the two-seater bench. Once they sat, Yami Tea crossed her legs and reclined.   
  
"Yami, can you tell me something?" she asked. She swung her foot up and down at the ankle, an action strong enough to hike up her skirt a bit.   
  
"Hm?" he asked, seemingly unaffected by her action.   
  
"What do you think of my abiou?" she asked.   
  
"Tea?? Well, I guess she's okay. She's nice enough." he answered with his staple aloof, unconcerned voice. He said it with all the vigor and emotion of the way one gives you the time.   
  
"Is that all though?" she pressed further.   
  
"No, thats all." he answered, voice even more cooler than at the last question. Inside, the yami smiled.   
  
"Oh, just wondering." she sighed. They sat abit longer, nothing happening, no more talking, just them sitting, each lost in their own thoughts. Slowly, Yami Tea began to nod her head. Once, Twice, three times her head bobbed. Yami did not notice this action, his mind was in his deack, formulating new strategies. Suddenly, Yami Tea's head began to lean to one side, towards Yami.   
  
"Eh??" Yami wondered. It was too late, Yami Tea was deep asleep, her head resting on Yami's shoulder. Yami looked down at her face, which was content and peaceful. He blinked, unsure of what exactly to do. This position was rather akward for him, but....it was......pleasant. He looked down at the sleeping girl at his side. She _was_ pretty. Pretty in a way not like Maii. Maii was openly buxom, sexual. Tea was....  
  
What was she?  
  
A new line of thought opened in his mind. What was his relationship to Tea? Friendly, brotherly, at least thats how it started. Over time, the solid lines that exsisted between them were slowly blurring. Were they becoming something else? Maybe more than friends, like lovers?   
  
WHOA!!! Stop it! Where was his head? Lovers? Him and Tea? Never. He was the "King of Games", a pharoah, an untouchable, unbreakable game-miser. If so, why did he feel so warm towards this girl? Yes sure, she was once his close friend in Egypt...in fact, more than that. His mind reeled at the sudden flood of memories.   
  
It was a secret that was so well kept, that not even the High Preists, the chamber maids, or any others knew. Secret nights, private trysts in the deep, hidden corners of the palace. Stolen looks across the dinner table, hands held in quick seconds of peace. It was sweet and uncomplicated. Something that made life a little more fuller between the constant seiges of his time by Shadow Games and the pressures of running a kingdom. When the day was over, the duels won, and the consulants gone home, she was always waiting in his room, with a welcome smile and a listening ear to hear his troubles. Things were good back then, and one night, everything fell apart.   
  
An assassin, a jealous noble, eager to put himself on the throne. A single blade flashing in the moonlight, and a blink of an eye. The blow was fast, and accurate. He fell to the hall floor, bleeding. He was only concious for a few seconds more, his mind whirling in the death-struggle. He reached into his robe, and pulled out a small ring. Simple, a band of gold with a singular ruby inset in the middle. He imagined the very ring hanging happily on her finger, her smiling face seated beside him as his wife, and High Queen of Egypt. 


	6. Kiss of a Black Rose

Star of Millenia  
  
Chapter Six.  
  
  
Yami Tea woke up a not too long later, seeing Yami still in his spot, a conspicuous hand resting in her hair. she quiked a smile before she closed her eyes again and began to fake yawn. She tilted her false, sleep-drugged eyes to his face and smiled.   
  
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you" she grinned a bit. Yami didn't react, but just nodded, mumbling an "S'ok" half-mindedly. She righted herself and popped her back. Test one, Yami had passed with flying colors. The fact that he had even let her sleep like that was proof that he thought more of Tea than just a girl. With that hurdle cleared, she was free to move on to her favorite part of her scheme. If he went through that part without flinching, then her abiou was on proverbial easy-street with the Pharaoh.   
  
{I can't wait...} she chuckled. She could just see the look on his face when she.....but not now. She shook her head slightly. Wait til tonight, she thought. Then everything will be out of your hands.   
  
{KuuuuRINA!!} Tea screamed from inside her soul room. Sighing heavily, she turned and peeked through the window that seperated the two rooms.   
  
{What is it brat?} she asked, irritated. Tea crossed her arms inginantly.   
  
{I want out! My muscles are getting cramped!} she complained.   
  
{I had to stay in my soul room for over 3000 years without getting a break, so deal Brat!} she cried and blockaded the window. Tea slammed her fists into the window, enraged. What was her Yami up to? Something was definately fishy here, and she would find out what, by nightfall for sure.   
  
Oh, what little did she know!   
  
  
  
They began to walk back home, Yugi and Yami exchanged controll, so it was quiet. Kurnia's ambitions did not include the pint sized Duelist. Once they were back at her house, she opened the door. Yugi smiled and went to leave, but she stopped him.   
  
"Want some food or something?" she asked.   
  
"No." Yugi shook his head. To be honest, Tea's Yami scared him. Yami Bakura he'd rather face than the seductive and bewitching wolf in sheep's clothing that was Yami Tea. He began to back to the street.  
  
Damn!! She needed Shorty here if her plan was to work. Idea, she needed something to keep him there...what?? What could possibly keep the brat there?? Her mind raced for an answer, without betraying her panic on her face.   
  
"Hey!" she called out. Yugi looked up at her, surprized. "Hey, I got the new edition of Deulist Journal. Didn't you say you wanted to read it?" she asked. Yugi looked at her sweetly poisoned smile. He was very wary of that look. Slowly, his head feeling like a lead weight on his neck, he nodded. Kurina smiled, and opened the door for him. He gulped, and entered the lion's den.   
  
She shuffled about her room, seraching for the magazine. She opened a few drawers, around her table, ect. Meanwhile, Yugi stood in her doorway, nervously fiddling with a long golden bang. She finally found the magazine. It had been hastily stuffed into an obscure drawer while Yami Tea had been busy "redecorating". She handed the slightly crumpled manuscipt to him. He turned to beat a quick withdrawl, before she hooked his collar and drug him back inside her room.  
  
"Listen, can you have Yami come out? I have something I wanted to say to him." she pleaded. Yugi nodded quickly. anything to get away from her! He ventured back into his soul room, and knocked on the door to Yami's.  
  
"Yami?" he asked. "Yami Tea wants to tell you something." He heard a grunt and a heave of motion from the other side of the door, and Yami stuck his head out.   
  
"Fine, this better be quick." he grumbled. Yugi nodded, and they exchanged.   
  
Kurina smiled. She'd be having to bump up her time schedule, she wanted to wait a little later for this, but why pass up opprotunity?   
  
"what is it?" Yami asked, unoccasionaly grumpy. He had been in the middle of something. Yami Tea decided to make this quick. She stalked up to him, hips swaying, flaunting to him what this body had to offer. She leaned over to him, using both her arms to brace herself, and at the same time, pin him between them. She leaned her face close to his, til where her breath was flowed over his face.   
  
His less than happy mood soon faded to a sense of panic, Yami Tea was close to him, dangerously close. Her breath fluttering along his cheeks, the vague scent of her shampoo caught his nose. His heart began to hammer dangerously fast. He gulped.   
  
"This...is something she's wanted to do to you for a long time.." she whispered huskily. She closed the exsisting gap between them, and roughly seized his lips to hers. She pushed her tongue past his, and stroaked the inside of his mouth, exploring as she pleased. Yami froze instantly, in a state of shock. What was she doing? Why wasn't he fighting?? He could do nothing, as much as his mind screamed for his body to move, it didn't obey. His heart fluttered quickly in exhiliration. His mind was now so numb, he stopped thinking and just concentrated on keeping his legs locked out.   
  
She pulled away, her thumb swiping the corners of her mouth. She grinned a grin only the devil himself could have. She looked down at him, and walked out. She stopped at the doorway, and turned.   
  
"Oh, remember, that was the Brat kissing you just then...not me. Have a nice day." she turned and dissapeared down the hall. Yami stood in a state of shock and confusion. In his Soul Room, Yugi's jaw was on the floor.   
  
"What just happened?" Yugi cried in his Soul room. Yami, still stock still and gasping for his breath.  
  
"I dunno...I think she just...kissed me..." he muttered. Yugi blinked, and bristled.   
  
"KISS?!? SHE JUST FRENCHED YOU LIKE A FRY!" he shouted. Yami flinched at the uncharacteristic yelling of his abiou, and stood up.   
  
"French? There was nothing french about it..." he replied. Yugi twitched, of all the times for Yami to show his ignorance to modern culture....  
  
"Yami...it's just an expression..but still..SHE JUST KISSED YOU!!!!! All you can do is just stand there??" he cried. He honestly just didn't understand the Pharaoh at times...  
  
Yami yet again shrugged, and walked out of the house, the magazine in hand. He turned at the street and faded into the shadows quickly. From the window in her parnet's room, Tea watched him leave, and silently made herself the promise to never go near him again...for the good of her pride, his pride, and because she was sure Kurina would have a feild-day with the taunts and teases she could use on the subject....even if it was her own fault. Sighing heavily, she walked to her room, and laid on her bed and looked at the ceiling mournfully.   
  
Yami Tea was silent in her Soul Room...she decided that her abiou needed some time alone to cool.   
  
  
  
A/N: Huzzah! chapt. 6 is FINALLY up! Sorry thsi took so long folks, finals JUST got over with, and I've been busy with other fics. I whipped this chapter up in response to all of you who pleaded for a new chap in my fic Flood. Sorry this took so long, but I'm really wondering where to take this fic....just leave it as is? Bring in a major protagonist? I'm really stumped for ideas. Any that you guys might wish to contribute, tell in the reveiws. The person who comes up with the best idea will get a cameo in the next few chapters! I promise! Now I gotta go start my Star Wars Fic, (an Anakin/Padme fluff after Return of the Jedi :-D) My MKR fic...ect, ect. You can also thank Starflower aka Mizuri for sending me that e-mail to remind me of this thing that wa sitting half done on my hard drive. ^_^0..sorry folks.   
  
See Ya Laters!!  
  
~~ARcadia Silver, Holder of the Millenium Pentagram 


	7. Blood on the Walls

{_Oh my lovely swan, where have you spread your wings to and flown now? In what cave or lake keeps you from my eyes? My sweet, lovely, dancing swan, whose feathers are darker than the voids of space, I can't sense your aura, not even a glimpse of you passionate soul is revealed to me. I wonder about this night and day. Do you know what pains you have bestowed to me by hiding? But yet..as you have vanished, I have felt the rays of your gilded cage reflect brighter than ever. Have you found a roost that suits you better than my castle of purest gold? Perhaps I should cast my eyes upon the vessel that has challenged me in my claims to your soul. Yes, I shall. Then, my black swan, you will roost under my watchful eyes for infinity.....}_

Anzu tossed about in her bed again, tangling the satin sheets more intricately around her legs.  The dark covers were kicked off feverishly as she sat up, wiping sweat from her face. The oscillating fan that aimed at her bed was useless, only serving to circulate the hot, sticky air. Summer in Japan was indeed one hell of a bitch. 

{Some language you've put into my head, Kurina!}  Anzu snapped to the sleeping Yami on the other side of the barrier. It was useless to talk to her at this time. Kurina had a heavy block on the barrier and she slept like the proverbial rock. Setting her feet on the floor, she stood and began to pace the hardwood floor. It too was warm. For some strange reason, she was so brilliantly wide-awake. Her eyes couldn't close if they had been taped with electrical tape. Every part of her was stretched to no ends, every cell alive with crackling energy. She was alive, burning, buzzing with a mysterious energy that came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time...at 3:15 in the morning. 

Seeking solstice, she went downstairs; her parents were in Berlin this week, spreading the influence of Mazaki Software Communications across the globe. She never thought that starting your own company would have taken them away from her so much. Yet it served dual purpose, their absence had made this period of adjustment all that much easier. Taking a glass from the cabinet, she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk carton. After pushing aside the bottle of 550$ chardonnay wine. Her parents were hopeless when it came to gourmand wines.

She popped the top and poured the glass 3/4 full. She put the carton back and sat down, slipping it slowly. Tomorrow was school, so she should really be asleep. Nevertheless, something was keeping her awake. She knew what is was, she dreaded stepping into homeroom tomorrow and facing Yami and Yugi. In the wake of Yami Anzu's impromptu show of affection, she didn't know if she could even look him...them...in the eyes again.  Taking another sip, she sighed. 

Granted, it did feel nice. Gave her a nice, warm tingling sensation all the way down to her toes, ricocheting along the hidden area between her legs. Leaning back, she wondered how Kurina had been able to tap into her emotions like that, to know how she felt about Yami. 

"But what about Yugi?" another voice pressed. Her conscience again, damnit. She didn't know what to do about herself. Was what she felt for Yugi love as well? Was it sisterly love? Or like the feelings, she had for Yami, only subdued? 

Another sip.

What were to happen if she were forced to choose? Who would it be? The Pharaoh or her best friend?

Sip Sip.

"Maybe I should have got the wine instead" she mused.

            As usual, it had taken fifteen cups of coffee and three bowls of sugar puffs to get Jouno out of his bed again. By the time he had eaten, and run to school because he had missed the bus from eating, the sugar was fully in his system, and he was wired. He celebrated this fact by running around the schoolyard like crazy and screaming at the top of his lungs. He covered about three miles before the first bell, and arrived in class in record time. 

            As Yugi looked at Jouno made a new breed of fool out of himself, he looked over to Anzu's vacant desk, and wondered. The recollection or last night was still strong in his and his yami's mind. He still didn't know what to make of the whole situation, just that everything had gotten more confusing than ever. The bell rang and he opened his book, and Jouno continued to bounce in his seat happily, counting down the moments to recess. 

            Anzu had finally fallen asleep last night; head down on her table, a glass of milk separating as it spoiled. Yami Anzu woke in her Soul Room around 11:30 in the morning, and proceeded to stomp into her abiou's Soul Room and kick her awake. 

            "Hey Brat, rise and shine! I missed "Days of Our Lives" because of you!" Anzu rolled over and stood up, leveling a bloodshot and weary look at her Yami. 

            "Whoa." She reeled back. "Nice impression of a raccoon your doing." Anzu huffed and woke her body up, crusts of sleep and exhaustion sealing her eyes. 

            "Lemme alone, Kurina." She groaned and rolled over. Kurina, very unsatisfied by that answer, shook her. 

            "I ain't taking no for an answer!! GET UP!!!" with one mighty heave, she hauled her abiou out of her mental recesses, and into the awareness of her own body. Anzu looked around, utterly miserable. 

            "Ugh…no school…no way…no how." She resolved. 

            {Then at least turn on my Soaps!!} Kurina demanded. Anzu just moaned in defeat and trudged to the living room, turned on the TV at the right channel, and shoved her abiou into bodily possession, and spent the rest of the day in her Soul Room. 

            Yami, now in charge, walked his way to the Turtle Game Shoppe, when he passed Anzu's house. He looked in his backpack, taking out some papers. He climbed the steps and rang the doorbell, waiting patiently. 

            Nothing or nobody came to the door. Yami waited several more minuets, foot tapping. He rung the bell again, and decided to look in windows when he still got no answer.

            {Why isn't she answering?} Yami asked. Yugi appeared beside him in the common grounds between their Soul Rooms. He tilted his head in thought. 

            {Could it be she's embarrassed from last night?} He mused. 

            {Could be, I still find it strange that Yami Tea did that.} He replied 

            Both of them became distracted when the phone began to ring inside the house. Yami looked in from a window at the phone. 

            {That's the school calling, I bet.} Yugi said. {They always call when a student is absent from school without an excuse. If she doesn't answer, then I'm gonna be worried.}

            The phone rang for several minuets afterwards. Eventually the answering machine picked up, and it was the school. An automated response left a short, concise message and then the house was silent. 

            {Yami, I'm worried. She should have answered that. I know where she keeps a key in case of an emergency. You need to get it.} Yugi spoke. 

            Yami nodded, and walked out from the awning that covered the porch. Stepping on a ledge, and reaching over, his fingertips touched something metallic and cold. He grabbed the end of it, and pulled back. He tossed the brass key up, and slid it into the deadbolt and turned. A soft click announced the door was unlocked. The door swung in and he looked around. Everything was normal, nothing unusual. He went through the door into the kitchen and froze stiff. Yugi popped out beside him. 

            "What the…?" he asked. The kitchen was in shambles. Glasses laid shattered on the floor, dishes dashed against the countertop, the cabinet doors flung open. Food from other cabinets and the refrigerator colored the walls and appliances. The breakfast nook in the back had it's chair against the far wall, and chairs upended. 

            "Anzu!!" both Yami and Yugi cried, dashing for the stairs to the top floor. Yami cleared two at a time, while Yugi's shorter legs took him only one at a time, but at a faster rate than Yami. By chance, Yugi looked down as his shoe made a squishing sound. On the sole of his shoe, and on the dark carpet was something dark. The scent wafted to his nose, and he could detect the unmistakable stench of blood. He stopped and looked up. For the rest of the staircase, each step was dotted with the same liquid. Whoever had bled over these stairs had been running quickly, obviously being chased by something. His stomach clenched as he felt what would await him up the stairs…a body. 

            Finally reaching Yami, Yugi stepped into her room. To his surprise, and relief, there was no body, but definitely more blood. The walls had scorch marks everywhere, handiwork of Yami Tea's magic. Everything was in the same way as the kitchen, utter chaos. As if a horde of Vikings had came and pillaged the whole room, top to bottom. 

            "What happened here?" Yami asked silently, as he bent over to touch the floor, traces of the pool of blood clinging to his fingertips. He wiped it from his hands and looked around.  For once, he was totally lost. The only thing he knew was that someone or something had come into the house, injured Anzu, and disappeared with her. 

            "Yami…" Yugi gulped, mentally kicking himself for even thinking this. "You think she's alive?" he asked softly. 

            Despite the fact that he wanted to assure his partner that she was okay, he couldn't. He couldn't even assure that if she was dead, that her body was in one piece. He just shook his head sadly.

            "I don't know Yugi."

Beh, there's Chapter Seven. In light of Xing's recent decision to cut all NC-17 fics from FF.Net, I wish to extend a big "thank you" too all the readers who supported "Flood" so well. Even the flamers, who gave me a good chuckle now and then. This decision couldn't have come at a worse time for me, since I have the outline for the Flood sequel sitting happily in my hard-drive.

 I also frown upon the statement that lemons are nothing but plot-less fics that have no depth and no actual effort put into them. Flood proves them all wrong in every aspect. I am proud to have given the web a decent lemon. If you wish to protest Xing's decision, an online petition has been started to make the point to Xing that the fic-reading audience wants their hentai!!

www.petitiononline.com/KEEPNC17 http://www.petitiononline.com/KEEPNC17 

There are already on the upper end of 17,000 signatures already. Add yours today!!


	8. Sing Me A Song of Twilight

From this Chapter on, things get VERY complicated. Several different things will be going on at the same time, and it will be easy for some to get confused. Please bare with me. 

            Kurina sat in her bed silently, while her mind churned for an answer of how she was to escape the predicament she was in.  Her abiou has yet to waken, but she already felt the ping in the back of her mind signaling Anzu was about to come around. She lay back, and closed her eyes, retreating in her Soul Room, and waited for Anzu to become conscious. 

            Anzu came charging out of her chamber, half-stumbling and half-fleeing. 

            "What happened? Where'd that crazy man go?" she cried. She swung her around madly, searching for the being that had attacked them earlier that day. Anzu had been in charge when the fire and spells had erupted. Kurina has quickly changed up, and turned to face who ever it was that had disturbed her rest. She had barely had time to react to the familiar face before her when she had felt the painful hissing as her was flesh seared by a swift thunderbolt. She had no choice but to run up the stairs, trailing a stream of fresh blood in her wake. 

            Once she had barricaded herself in Anzu's room, did it really get messy. Teleporting inside the door, the man began a duel with Kurina. Not the duel you did with duel monsters, but a duel of magic and spells. Until the smoke and lack of blood finally over took her did Kurina manage to keep up the defense. The man, this creature had snickered, reprimanded her for her weakness. Still teetering on the brink of consciousness, did she finally choke out one final word.

            "You…"

            Yugi stood on the opposite side of the street as the sirens wailed and lights on top of the police cars parked at Anzu's house. His head turned up as one of the police officers come up to him, notebook in hand. He kneeled down next to Yugi.

            "Son," he began. "Besides what you told us, do you remember anything else?" he probed. Yugi shook his head quickly.

            "No sir. Can you tell me anything?" he asked. 

            "Not really. From what the arson experts have said, it looks like some sort of break and entry. It seems to go in line with a rash of robberies and fire starting that's part of a local gang initiation." The officer explained. "So far, none of them have involved any killing or raping, just breaking in and setting fire to the house. I have no clue as to where you friend could be, I'm sorry." 

            Yugi nodded and thanked the man anyways. Inside his mind, Yami was already disagreeing with the man. Pointing out that he felt "magical energies" in the house, proof of some sort of magic.

            Yugi just shrugged, he was lost to the whole situation. Who knew where Anzu was!

            "Yugi?" someone asked behind him. Yugi twirled about, and there she was, in plain sight, but with a bandage around her shoulder, was Anzu, smiling. 

            "ANZU!" Yugi cried, leaping at her, and hugging her tightly. 

            "Ahh! Yugi, my shoulder!" she cried when her friend had crushed her wound in the embrace. Yugi backed away, blushing sheepishly. 

            "Sorry." He apologized. He looked at the bloody cloth. "What happened?" he cried. 

            "Well," she started. "I was sick today, when the doorbell rang. I went to answer it, and there was this guy asking to use my phone, saying his car had broken down. I went inside to get the phone, when I turned and he was right behind me with a knife! He stabbed me in my shoulder, and tried to attack me again, but I managed to run out of the house…" she stopped, her face contorted in pain and grief. "Yugi, I know who it is…" she said. 

            "Who?" He asked softly. She turned her head away, biting her lip and blinking back tears. "I can't say." She replied. Yami switched quickly, and turned her around gently to face him. 

            "Anzu, whoever it is, there is no purpose in protecting them. They need to be stopped before they do anything else like this." He pleaded with her. Anzu looked at him, a single tear tripping down her cheek. 

            "Okay…it was…"

            A knock resounded off the door of his room. Looking up from his schoolbooks, the boy stood and went to the door, and opened it. There were three or four men in police attire, holding out a slip of paper. 

            "Are you Jounochi, Katsuya?" one asked. 

            "Yeah, I am." He said, puzzled. 

            "Good." The man said, slapping the end of one cuff on his wrist. "Come with us."

            "What?!?!?!" he cried. 

            "You're under arrest, Katsuya Jounochi, for arson, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law…"

            Anzu has taken control of her body and was looking around the room, richly furnished and well kept with its beautiful carpets and furniture made of rich woods. All the colors were either the silver from the candleholders, mirror, and other trinkets; black from the walls and some rugs; purple from the fabrics of the pillows and sheets; or red, from the candles and rugs. It was a dream room for any girl, but what bothered Anzu most was one thing. 

            "Where's the door?" she wondered to Kurina. 

            {There is none, which is the point. We are prisoners here; he will not want us to escape easily.}

            "What does that…Sekth want with us anyway?" 

            {It's not us, it's me. We go back, him and I.} She sneered. 

            "Does he have anything to do with you and the Star?" she asked. Kurina's eyebrows shot up at her abiou's uncanny ability to bridge the two complete and supposedly opposite things with each other. 

            {Beware, Abiou. Curiosity did kill the cat, you know.}

            "Stop being cryptic Kurina." Anzu snapped. 

            {Just shut up Brat.} She snapped back. {and leave that vase alone!}

            Anzu sighed and placed the silver vase down. She walked over to the bed and sat down, and folded her knees up to her chin. Kurina popped out of nowhere beside her, and sighed. She began to sing a song she knew from her past life. 

_Come with me in the twilight, of a summer's night for a while._

_Tell me of a story, never ever told in the past._

_Take me back to the land, _

_Where my yearnings were born,_

_The key to open the door is in your hand..._

            She stopped suddenly as the last verse escaped her memory. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back. What was that last line?

_Now fly me there…_

            "Abiou? How'd you know that?" Kurina asked. Anzu shrugged. 

            "You started singing, and it just came to me." She said. Kurina looked perplexed, but went on. 

_Fanatics find their heaven in never ending storming wind…_

_Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth._

            Anzu picked up from there. 

_Consolations be there,_

_in my Dreamland to come._

_The key to open the door is in your hand_

_Now take me there. _

            Slowly, but with gathering confidence, they went on together this time, voices blending smoothly.

_I believe in fantasies invisible to me_

_In the land of misery _

_I'm searching for a sign. _

_To the door of mystery and dignity_

_I'm wonderin' down, and searching down the secret sun._

_Come with me in the twilight, of a summer's night for a while._

_Tell me of a story, never ever told in the past._

_Take me back to the land_

_where my yearnings were born._

_The key to open the door is in your hands._

_Now take me there. _

_To the land of twilight._

            "That was weird." Anzu replied. Kurina nodded. 

            "Hey, abiou." Kurina said. 

            "Yeah?"

            "You were off key."

            "So were you."

            "Shut up."

AN: The song sung is called "Key of the Twilight". It's off the .Hack//sign anime. (DOT Hack Sign) I think it's downloadable from Kazaa. 


	9. Stories

Star of Millenia~ Chapter Nine

_AN: Hmm, seems I've confused a lot of people! Don't worry, you'll understand soon enough. Now I recognize a rather interesting review I received earlier. _

**Talking to the Moon: ** _Hehe, make this a lemon?__ I must say, you're not the first to request this, especially in light of Flood's rather surprising success. I dunno…should I make this a lemon? You guys vote!! What kind of pairing should it be? Yugi/Anzu Yami/Anzu…maybe, seeing the rash of recent Hikari/Yami lemon fics, even a Kurina/Anzu Yuri lemon!!_

**ducks as she's pelted by the yaoi/straight fans**

_Okaaaaay…maybe not!_

**_This is it folks! _****_Arcadia_****_ has issued a poll! Should Star of Millenia become a lemon fic? If so, which couple should earn the divine right to get it on? All you hentai-lovers vote! Arcadia Silver, the author of the smash hit, and Fanfiction.Net's first Yu-Gi-Oh straight pairing lemon, FLOOD, has offered to post another raunchy masterpiece!_**

**Glares at the mysterious voice that sounds oddly like her crack-headed muses**

Zidane: **comes from the sound effects booth with a mike in his hands** I'm not a crack head! 

The poor desk vibrated wildly as the radio's bass was extended to it's full power. The windows throbbed and wobbled in time with the poor furniture. A lone figure bopped around the room, in time to the CD player, proudly blasting Prodigy's _Smack My B*tch Up_. The figure, from the streets, was silhouetted in the drawn blinds by the light of a lamp. Several people walking by could also notice that the figure was repeatedly tossing around clothing. 

            Inside the room, Anzu was prancing around, banging her head like an 80's rock star. In bras and panties, she had numerous items of clothing strung around the room. Keeping in beat, she waltzed over to a pair of tight leather pants. It had been a gag they had all pulled on Yami once, every last one of them had dressing to the nines in the black leather that the ancient Pharaoh so favored. It had been amusing to show up to a duel tournament, all of them dressed in that get-up. She slipped into the pants, pulling them up snug, and zipped them up. Following them was a belt with a group of dangling streamers that reached her knees. 

            She rocked around the room again, coming to a stop at an immodest top, which she pulled over her head and shoved down roughly. A little adjusting here and there, she looked at the mirror. A smile reflected back from the sinful black leather-bound goddess that appeared on the mirror. Giving a graceful spin, she stopped and thought to herself. 

            "Needs something else…" she muttered. She rummaged through drawers and boxes til she found what she wanted. Holding up the bend metal device to the light, she slid it up her arm til it stopped on her triceps. She spun it around to where she wanted it and smiled at the added effect it gave. She blew on her newly polished black nails in approval. After pecking around in another bag, she produced two items. One was blood-red eye shadow, which she used; the other was black lipstick, which she also applied. 

            Ugh…that hair! It had to go! She squeezed a large amount of gel into her hands and streaked it into her hair. The annoying poof fell flat and the gel kept it in a slight wave. Running bright red highlighter through it, she was done!!

            "If looks could kill…" she smiled, blowing a kiss at the mirror. "Now…wait…all I must do is wait"

            The first night had passed rather slowly. Kurina and Anzu argued over the bed, bickering almost to the point of violence on Kurina's part. Til they realized one could sleep on the bed and another in the Star. They flipped a coin, and Kurina won. Anzu went to her Soul Room and slept there, while Kurina stayed with the pillows and sheets. Kurina had tossed about on the bed, while Anzu never laid down once within the Star, only paced the length of her chambers til sunrise. 

            The next day came, nothing to break the monotony of the room, except watching the shadows slowly pass through the room. That night, Anzu got the bed, and Kurina paced. It was a dreadful and depressing routine. Very little had come of conversation since the incident with the song, instead, they left each other to their thoughts. Anzu wondered about the standard who, what, where, when, why and how's. She fretted over the condition of Yugi and the others back in Domino; they must be worried sick, wondering where she was! It was til the third day Anzu noticed something.

            "Kurina…I haven't eaten since the morning before we got kidnapped. For some strange reason, I'm still not hungry."

            "Magic" Kurina replied sharply. With that one word, the whole conversation was over. Anzu couldn't understand why her Yami was so snappy. Kurina was tense, all right. She was also hiding something from her Hikari, that much Anzu could tell. Deciding to let it go for the moment, she turned back and studied the room for the millionth time. It never changed, always the same as the last time she saw it. Grey stone walls, with no door. It was a pretty room, really, but too much time in even the most gorgeous of rooms got boring. She turned over and clanked at the walls, sighing in loneliness. 

            "Yes Bakura…I know Bakura…I'm happy for you…when are you leaving...Tonight." Yugi talked into the receiver, amidst the rapid-fire chatter of the white-haired Brit on the other end. Bakura's father had sent him a latter several days ago, inviting him on a special dig he was working on. He said in the letter that he was sorry about not being involved with Bakura for so many years, and wished to make it up in a Father-Son dig in southern Africa. 

            "I'm sorry I'm going not be there for Jouno's trail." He lamented. Yugi nodded on the other end. 

            "I know." He sighed. "I dunno what to do. Anzu said she saw Jou do it, but he says he was at home the whole day. He has nobody to back him though. But on the other hand, they have no real evidence against him, only Anzu's testimony."  

            "I know…I just can't figure it out. I want to be there to support Jouno, but I can't just dismiss Anzu too."

            "Same here." Yugi confirmed. "Even Honda feels the same."

            "Indeed, but here's the pinch, my Yami says he felt something like magic in there." Yugi bolted up at that.

            "You too?? Yami said he felt the same thing. Think Kurina could be behind this?!?!" Yugi thought.

            "You could be on to something Yugi. I don't think Kurina hates us enough to do something like that, but, we never know…"

            Yugi 'hmm-ed' into the phone, Anzu hadn't called in several days; she hadn't been seen at school or anything. Anzu, no matter how upset, wouldn't miss a whole week of school for just that. Something was definitely up.

            "Bakura, don't sweat about it, me and Yami will figure this out. You just go to Africa and enjoy the time with your father, okay?"

            "You sure about this Yugi, this could be dangerous. What if Kurina decides to get rid of the other Items?" 

            "Hey, Yami is more than a match for her. Don't worry, even if she might come for you, your Yami won't give up that Ring without one heck of a fight."

            "Yeah…comforting." Bakura replied, his voice laced with sarcasm. Yugi chuckled despite himself. 

            "Alright then, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

            "Sure thing, later!"

            "Later!"

            "Oh, and Yugi?"

            "Yes?"

            "Watch your back. We don't know what we're dealing with."

            "I know."

            Kurina had laid back down on her bed after Anzu asked her question. She snorted, that answer should have been obvious, but not to her ditzy abiou. She also gave Anzu a few more names, but deep inside her mind, she was in fault for snapping at her abiou. Anzu was lost, scared, and confused. 

            She'd give anything for that luxury right now. She knew what would come soon. She should be telling Anzu, but that would make the girl panic. Right now, ignorance was Anzu's invisible best friend, so to speak. 

            So why didn't he come already? Bah, she knew that answer, it was to wear their nerves down, to get them so inept by the never changing scenery, that they would do just about anything to get out. She looked up at the tall ceiling above them, letting her eyes travel over the tapestries in silent reverence. They were works of art, incredible pieces of craftsmanship that told a beautiful story. She remembered it, it was burned into her clouded memory. 

            _Once upon a time, in a place long and far from this Earth, there lived a girl. She was a poor girl, very alone and lonely. She had once had a lovely family, with a pretty, kind mother and a strong brave father. On sunny days, they would go into the gardens around their house and play hide-and-seek in the roses. When the game was over, they would crowd on a blanket and eat a picnic dinner under the warm sky, watching the stars peep out, one by one. _

_            One day, her mother and father went away. They were packed into large wooden boxes and carried away on a big carriage. People came to the cart as it passed and threw flowers and wreaths on top of her parents. They cried, and the girl thought they were sad because they were going away. It wasn't until her aunt told her, that her parents had gone away forever this time, never to return. She didn't understand then, she was very naïve. She thought that they had gone somewhere, and that she would soon travel too and join them wherever they were. _

_            The little girl went on, she played with her dolls, and had tea parties with her toys in the rose garden where she and her mother and father played hide-and-seek. But then, one day she woke up, her toys were gone. The beautiful china tea-set her mother had given her was gone. All the beautiful things she had had been snatched in the night. She ran to her aunt who said that she was leaving, and that her things had been packed away. _

_            The girl grew excited, thinking that she would finally see her mother and father again. But "going away" wasn't what she had thought. Her aunt had taken her by the hand and lead her outside, then shut the door behind her, leaving the girl alone. The girl waited and waited, finally, hungry, she knocked on the door, wanting inside. The lowest servant in the house came and told her this was no longer her home, and she had to leave. _

_            For many years, the girl wondered the streets, angry and bitter at what had happened to her. She snapped and snarled at all who came near her. She became secretive and cold to others, and the people on the streets began to call her "Ice Face" for her face was always stiff and unmoving, like ice. One day, a girl her age came to her. The girl was pretty and well-clothed. The beggar had no idea what to do, usually, the people like that avoided her, or boxed her ears with the butts of their spears, and laughed as their horses almost ran over her. The Rich Girl offered her a coin, and the Beggar refused. The Rich girl was confused, giving money to poor people usually made them happy. Shrugging, she went away, only to come back the next day. _

_            Day after day, the same thing happened, Rich Girl would offer a coin, and Beggar would refuse. This happened for many days…then many years. One day, when the both of them were grown, the Rich Girl asked the Beggar something._

_            "Why do you refuse my coin?"_

_            "Because I always loose everything that I cherish."_

_            "Why do you loose it?"_

_            "I don't, it's taken from me."_

_            "Then maybe you should fight back."_

_            The Beggar blinked, surprised. She thought again…she saw the wisdom of the Rich Girl's words and nodded, standing. _

_            "Your right. I should fight back." With a nod of her head, the Beggar walked away. _

_            For many hours, the Beggar walked til she finally reached a back door. Mustering her courage, the knocked the door. Almost immeadiatly, the Lowest-Servant- Of-The-House came and opened the door. Upon seeing the Beggar, dressing in shambles, she asked what she wanted. Without a word, the Beggar walked in. Upon entering the largest, most grand bedroom of the house, she came across a gathering of people around the bed. One lady picked up her head, and cried in joy, and ran to embrace the Beggar. The woman had been the Beggar's Nanny, back so many years ago. All the servants of the house recognized the Beggar as their long-lost mistress. They rejoiced and cried happily as she entered. They took her to the bed, and pulled back the sheets to reveal the Aunt, withered with age, and twisted and wracked with disease._

_            "She did it" said the Nanny. "She lied to everyone, including us! She poisoned your mother and father, and when they left you everything, she had a crooked lawyer write you out. She then turned you out to the streets." Said the Nanny. The Beggar shook her head. _

_            "Even if she has betrayed me, I will not turn her away, she is family. Take her to her former chamber, for now I claim this room as is my right as ruler of this house, and my destiny."_

_            Many days later, there came a knock at the Rich Girl's door. Opening it, she was surprised the see the Beggar, now dressed like a Rich Girl herself, stand there, smiling. _

_            "Thank you," the Now-Rich-Girl said. "Because of your good advice, I am now no longer ruled by my past, instead, I am ruled by my heart, thank you!" The Rich Girl smiled and the two embraced, forever the best of friends._

            The sun has long set over the far hills of the landscape. Kurina sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, a small smile gracing her lips.


End file.
